Wearing of eyeglasses and the like while engaged in vigorous activity can be difficult for various reasons.
One reason is a fundamental inability of most eyeglass frames to remain properly attached to the wearer's face whenever the wearer is engaged in activity including rapid or extensive movements of the head and/or body. A conventional eyeglass having this disadvantage likely will become detached from the wearer's face in such instances.
Another reason is a general discomfort associated with wearing eyeglasses in conjunction with a helmet, hat or other headgear, which is commonly worn when participating in vigorous activities, such as skiing, bike riding, rafting, climbing, motorcycling, etc. When both eyeglasses and a helmet are worn, the helmet can apply pressure on the ears, which in turn causes the ears to press against the temple pieces of the eyeglasses. With many known eyeglass designs, temple pieces can be bulky or non-conforming to a user's head such that when worn with a helmet, the ears and head can be uncomfortably and often painfully pressed against the temple pieces. Further, some devices and mechanisms coupled to the temple pieces and designed to keep the eyeglasses on the wearer's face (see below) act only to magnify this discomfort by adding to the bulk of the temple pieces.
Many people wear eyeglasses for reasons other than, or in addition to, vision correction. Well-known examples are the large number of different types of “sunglasses” that reduce the intensity (and/or change the wavelength) of light reaching the wearer's eyes. Other well-known examples are so-called “safety glasses” usually used for eye protection in industrial and laboratory environments. Yet other well-known examples are various “goggles” and the like.
As used herein, “eyewear” generally encompasses all of various eyeglass types summarized above as well as any other analogous device configured to fit to a person's face and that includes a “frame” and “lenses.” The frame typically has a front portion situated largely in front of the wearer's eyes. The lenses are mounted to the front portion and transmit at least some light to the wearer's eyes. Mounted to the front portion are “temple pieces” that extend rearward from the front portion to engage and/or rest upon the wearer's ears. The temple pieces usually, but not necessarily, are hinged to the front portion.
To address the concerns raised by the need for eyewear that will remain on the wearer's face during vigorous activity, various schemes have been adopted. For example, certain types of eyewear, notably goggles and certain types of eyeglasses, employ a strap, elastic band, cord, or analogous feature (usually adjustable) that extends fully around the rear of the wearer's head, rearwardly of the ears. Unfortunately, although these features are effective, they can be uncomfortable and are usually not favored for use when style is important. Also, eyewear with this feature is difficult to put on and take off, especially when the wearer is also wearing a hat or helmet. Other types of eyewear have temple pieces with wire-like, semicircular, “wrap-around” ear-engaging portions that curve downward fully behind the wearer's ears. Unfortunately, again, eyeglasses having these types of temple pieces are difficult to put on or take off, especially in situations in which the wearer is also wearing a hat or helmet.
Many other schemes have been tried to improve the fit of eyeglass frames to the wearer. For example, a first scheme involves making the temple pieces adjustable lengthwise, such as discussed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,955,708; 6,322,211; 6,409,336; 5,929,966; 4,946,268; 4,047,809; 5,347,325; 5,668,619; 5,056,907; 3,556,644; 3,544,204; 3,545,848; 6,752,496; 6,719,425; 6,059,411; 5,448,317; 5,133,595; 4,804,260; 3,873,192; 3,667,834; and 3,666,355, as well as U.S. Patent Publication No. 2005/0280772. A second scheme involves making the frame-width adjustable, such as discussed in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2005/0270477. A third scheme involves both making the temple pieces adjustable lengthwise and making their pantoscopic angle (relative to the front portion) adjustable, such as discussed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,796,461; 5,457,505; 5,532,767; and 7,104,646. A fourth scheme involves temples with “wrap-around” ends that can be temporarily straightened to facilitate donning and removing the eyeglass. Unfortunately, these various schemes tend to be highly specialized and do not address all needs, especially needs posed by concepts of style and utility that arise with modern sports eyeglasses.